Sunday, October 9, 2011

Trinity Faegan Enters the YA World with Edgy Debut

I'm thrilled to host debut Young Adult author Trinity Faegan today, not only because I had the privilege of reading her YA work while it was still in manuscript form but also because she's a dear friend.

Your first YA novel, The Mephisto Covenant, just released. Tell us a bit about the book and the main characters.

A descendant of the daughter of Eve, born before Original Sin, Sasha falls in love with Jax, a son of the dark angel, Mephistopheles, then discovers she alone can save him from Hell, but only if she gives up mortality and her birthright of certain Heaven to join him and his brothers in a brutal war to save mankind’s free will.

How did the idea for this book, and the rest of the series, come to you?

I was going through a difficult period after someone close to me was sexually assaulted. I sort of obsessed about evil – why does it exist? Is there really a devil, or Hell? One night, I dreamed of kick-ass guys who could destroy evil. It was hazy and weird, like all dreams, but when I woke up, they were fully formed in my head. As I created the story, I wanted a girl who could be with them only because she was unique in some way. I came full circle to where I’d begun, thinking about original sin. According to the Bible, original sin began when Eve ate the apple and tempted Adam to eat it, too. It’s like they doomed each of us to constant temptation, and only by rising above it can we reach Heaven. At least, that’s what so many religious doctrines teach. I imagined what a human would be like if they weren’t around when Lucifer visited Eden and offered the apple to Eve. So I invented Aurora, born before the fall, who wandered away and was lost. It kind of went from there.

Did you have any moments during the writing of the book when you went, "This is freaking awesome!"? Any when you wanted to pull your hair out?

Writing the first draft was awesome. Revising based on feedback from agents was not so awesome. Throwing the whole thing out and starting over was back to awesome. No, really. Revisions from my editor were…difficult. I’m not sure if that’s because of what he wanted, or that I was going through a major health crisis and surgery during first and second round revisions.

You previously wrote for Harlequin's Bombshell line before it closed. How is writing YA different from writing those earlier books? How is it similar?

I wrote the Bombshell books in first person, and they were funny. The heroine was a divorced down-on-her luck CPA. Her entire worldview was more mature and jaded than Sasha in Mephisto, which I wrote in third. The Pink books were light, even though they dealt with a serious subject, but Mephisto is very dark. I was more conscious of my audience with Mephisto, although I didn’t pull any punches.

Are you a big fan of reading YA? If so, what are some of the best YA books you've read this year?

Huge fan of YA. I haven’t read much since June, when I got serious with writing book 2 in this series. Before that, I read OyMG by Amy Dominy, about a Jewish girl at a Christian camp, and I loved it. As soon as life slows down, I’m excited to read Simone Elkeles’s third Fuentes brother book, Chain Reaction. I’m a total fangurl! Also really excited to read Heather Brewer’s first book in her new Slayer Chronicles series.

If The Mephisto Covenant was made into a movie, who would you love to see cast as the leads?I never think about this. Really. Never.

Tell us about what you're working on now?

Getting some sleep after turning in book 2 of the Mephisto series, which right now is only two books. Here’s hoping there’ll be more!

If you could ask the Banditas and our Bandita Buddies one thing, what would it be?

How do you guys stay so fun, fresh and on top of things? And where can I buy some? LOL!~~~Trinity will be giving away a copy of The Mephisto Covenant today to one lucky commenter. Tell us, are you a fan of YA fiction? If so, what are some of the best YA books you've read this year? What are your all-time favorites?

35 comments:

Hi Trinity. I just checked out your website and your Silhouette Bombshells on FictionDB. I missed the Bombshell series when they came out. Pink sounds like she was fun to write and more fun to read about.

I really haven't read a lot of YA books. This one sounds quite different from the few that I have read. Very dark but a very worthy cause they are fighting for.

One of the last YA novels I read was Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I read it after there was so much talk about banning it. It was a very thought provoking book.

Hey, Kalee, did you say he's a beast? Oh, sorry, read that too far. He's a BLAST! Sometimes literally. Wait till he gets together with the boom girls Nancy and Jeanne and co.

Congratulations on the book. What a fascinating premise! I love it when people take mythology and give it a twist. Or a darn good yank. Hmm, sometimes I'd like to see a darn good yank but that's another story.

Actually I find being with my Bandita sisters even when only via cyberspace usually gives my mojo a good kick up the patootie.

I've been knee-deep in YA recently; I attended book signings of four YA authors (including Heather Brewer!) in the last week and a half alone!

One of the best YA I've read this year is Ann Aguirre's "Enclave". One of my criteria about how much I enjoyed a book is whether I imagine myself in the story (not as any of the characters though) and I did so with "Enclave" even though I've given up reading post-apocalyptic, dystopian reads; I just couldn't stop myself from wanting to investigate more of the world she created.

Last year, the YA I liked best was "Half World" by Hiromi Goto. I loved the first sentence:Long, long, long ago, before mortals began to inscribe mortal religions onto stone tablets and parchment, there was a time of the Three Realms: the Realm of Flesh, the Realm of Spirit, and Half World.

I love Jana Oliver's Demon Trappers Daughter series, The Girl In The Steel Corset by Kady Cross is another great read, Witch Song by Amber Argyle was a refreshing read, and A Demon made me do it by Penelope King was a great read too :0

The Mephisto Covenant sounds really interesting and will most definitely go on the must read list!

Speak is a powerful novel, and there's a movie based on it too starring Kristen Stewart. Book banning is a huge peeve of mine, so I try to support the novels that are banned because they usually have a powerful story to tell.

I now have something else on my "need to read list." Thank you! It sounds amazing. I enjoy reading YA books by Cassandra Clare, and the Chronicles of Nick books by Sherrilyn Kenyon. The Hunger Games book were awesome, and I can't wait for the movies either. They reminded me a bit of the Ender's Game series, by Orson Scott Card, which I read a long time ago, but enjoyed.

Hi! I'm about 20 miles north of Roy, New Mexico, on my way home to west Texas. I had my first booksigning in Albuquerque on Friday night, and we decided we should tAke the scenic route home. :) We spent last night in Red River and it snowed! So cool! All the aspens are turning and oh, wow - SO beautiful!Thanks for popping in for Trish's interview. I love all the YAs you've mentioned. The Hunger Games trilogy is in a class all by itself, IMO. I can't decide if I'm excited about the movie or not. I have it in my mind a certain way, and sometimes a filmmaker's vision kinda messes with that, you know?I think service is about to get sketchy. I'll check back when we're closer to civilization. :)

I love YA. Why wasn't there a larger YA book section when I was in high school? I think some of my favorite YA books have been The Hunger Games series, Harry Potter series ( they git me back into reading in college), Twilight got be back into reading as an adult, and I've had the chance to read an ARC of The Mephisto Covenant and really enjoyed it, though I would love to have a copy of my own.

Kaelee, you have taken leave of your chook-addled senses! Be careful, you may have been brainwashed and require de-progamming when the GR finally leaves your house...

Trinity, welcome to the Lair! Your books sound very exciting and a bit shiver-inducing - great combo!

I love the story idea, which does sound a bit like some of the ancient myths from Greece and other cultures. I think we have a primal desire to understand the nature of good and evil and, of course, why bad things happen. It sounds like you are off to a great start with this series. I hope they sell really well!

As to how we keep things hopping around here...it's sort of organic. Take a bunch of crazy Banditas, add awesome Bandita Buddies, stir in interesting guests and - last but not least - carefully fold in one out-of-control rooster and - VOILA! - this is what you get. :)

Marybelle, I am waiting to read the Hunger Games series. I'm trying to get my 17-year-old interested in them so I'll have an excuse to buy them - isn't that sad?

Trinity, I've read some YA and really enjoy it. I probably wouldn't read it much if I didn't have teenagers around the house, though. It all depends on the story. I'll read a great author any time, no matter what the genre!

All the ones that I have read were recommened by my daughter - she is now 27 and the last one was the The Hunger Games which I loved. I have also enjoyed Harry Potter and Twilight. Those are all the recent ones.

Just spent 30 minutes responding to everyone and when I tried to post, we went out of range and the post went into oblivion. Argh! iPhones are awesome, except for right now. :( Just know, I agree with everyone, appreciate being here, and Trish can come to dry, warm west Texas anytime you like. My door is always open!We should be home in another couple of hours and I'll be back.Trinity, coming to you from a cotton field south of Muleshoe, Texas

Wait, who said that I was on top of things?? They are soooo lying! LOL

YA books are great! The best ones I've read this year are L.A. Meyer's The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Adventures of Jacky Faber, on her Way to Botany Bay (Bloody Jack, #8), Scott Westerfeld's Behemoth (Leviathan #2) and Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1). My all time favourites are Patricia C. Wrede's Mairelon duology, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack series and Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy.

As someone who is currently in the editing process of my first YA manuscript, it's wonderful to hear about the process others go through when writing their own YA stories. If only mine would come in a dream! Congratulations on your debut into YA.

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September Releases

Still Available

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Donna MacMeans, Trish Milburn, and Nancy Northcott will all be in Atlanta for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Decatur, Georgia September 30 through October 2nd. If you're in the area, stop by for the booksigning. We'd love to see you.

Redeeming the Rogue by Donna MacMeans received a 4.5 star TOP PICK! review from Romantic Times Magazine.

Living in Color by Trish Milburn is now available on Kindle, Smashwords and at barnesandnoble.com for the Nook.